Petromin marine and offshore Jan-Feb Issue

ice, may be an important

ice, may be an important source of future energy. CHINA Fugro Returns to China for Gas Hydrate Research Project in Further GMGS Contract Fugro has been awarded a contract by Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS) for gas hydrate investigation on the Northern Continental Slope of the South China Sea. The contract is valued at approximately US$ 40 million and the project is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2018. This is the fifth gas hydrate field research programme that Fugro will undertake for GMGS and the two companies have worked together in this field of research since 2007. Gas hydrates, “frozen” gas-water solids resembling Operated from drilling vessel, Fugro Voyager, the site characterisation programme comprises logging while drilling, pressure coring and geotechnical sampling. The report and assessment of gas hydrate reservoir volumes delivered by Fugro will be used by GMGS to plan China’s second gas hydrate marine production test scheduled for 2019. “We are pleased to be re-appointed to execute further exploration work in the South China Sea and to continue our long-standing relationship with GMGS,” said Jerry Paisley, Fugro’s Director for Marine Site Characterisation in the Asia Pacific Region. “Fugro has been involved in many of the world’s major gas hydrate field programmes to date, providing technical advice, specialised tools, laboratory analyses and vessels,” he explained. SOUTH KOREA SK Innovation announces Oil Discovery in the South China Sea SK Innovation (CEO Jun Kim, www. SKinnovation.com) announced in February 2018 that it made oil discovery in the PRMB block 17/03 in the South China Sea. This marks SK Innovation’s first discovery in the area since its decision to push forward with offshore oil exploration projects as an operator in the South China Sea. Since its signing of block 17/03 PSC in February 2015, SK Innovation has been focusing its technical capabilities on geological and geophysical sur- 30 January to February 2018

SK Innovation first started its oil and gas business in 1983 by acquiring interests in Karimun Block, Indonesia, and has been focused mainly on conventional oil and gas in areas such as Peru, Vietnam and Middle East. In 2014, it acquired two unconventional oil and gas assets in the U.S. which currently produce around 2,500 boepd. SK Innovation’s net reserves amount to 530mmboe with daily production at 55kboe from 13 blocks in 9 countries globally. In the South China Sea, SK Innovation holds operatorship veys. In December 2017, it drilled its first exploration well into 2,014m depth and found 34.8m net oil pay. The oil production of the well was tested up to 3,750 (exploration) for two additional PSCs – 04/20 and 17/08. barrels per day. SK Innovation plans to drill follow-up appraisal wells to assess reserves and commerciality of the project. SK Innovation currently holds 80% working interest in the block, and 20% is held by CNOOC, the Chinese stated-owned company specializing in offshore oil and gas. A spokesperson from SK Innovation said, “SK Innovation was the first private company in Korea to step into the upstream oil and gas business, and the company’s focus on technical expertise ever since its beginning in 1983 led to this significant milestone. Once the commerciality of the project in PRMB is secured, SK Innovation will use it as a platform of growth into other areas in the South China Sea” January to February 2018 31